1
00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,440
5678. 
Rock. 

2
00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:08,600
Step triple step rock step Cha 
cha cha cha cha. 

3
00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:12,120
Hi, my name is Kate and my 
pronouns, are they them? 

4
00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:14,760
And my name is Lou, and my 
pronouns are also they them. 

5
00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:17,360
Just two they them talking about
dance. 

6
00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:20,440
Dance and stuff. 
Lou, what is on the docket 

7
00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:22,840
today? 
Today we're going Contra 

8
00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:24,200
dancing. 
We are? 

9
00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:26,040
Yeah, we're going Contra 
dancing. 

10
00:00:26,080 --> 00:00:28,400
What's that all about? 
Yeah, so I've been Contra 

11
00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:31,000
dancing for like a year and you 
haven't done it yet? 

12
00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:35,200
No. 
So I am taking you Contra 

13
00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:37,400
dancing this evening for the 
first time. 

14
00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:42,120
So what Contra is 'cause we're 
like partner dancers. 

15
00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:43,920
I dance Lenny hop, you dance 
salsa. 

16
00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:48,840
But there is so many more 
partner dances out there. 

17
00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:51,760
We just happen to dance two of 
the most popular ones. 

18
00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:55,800
So Contra is another type of of 
partner dance. 

19
00:00:55,800 --> 00:01:00,000
It's almost more like a group 
dance, but it comes from like 

20
00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:04,360
the Renaissance country dances. 
It started back in like the 1516

21
00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:06,040
hundreds. 
But if you've ever seen like a 

22
00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:08,080
Jane Austen movie. 
Which I have. 

23
00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:11,040
Yes, you know, like the cute 
little like parlor dances they 

24
00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:14,520
do where they're like walking 
around in lines and circles and 

25
00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:17,720
making little shapes and it's 
all like very polite and there's

26
00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:19,720
like lots of rules and stuff 
like that. 

27
00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:26,240
That's what country dancing is. 
And back in the day when you'd 

28
00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:32,760
have like your Royal Court, you 
would have a, a dance master and

29
00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:36,040
your dance master would be the 
person that ran the dances. 

30
00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:39,520
And they would also design the 
dances 'cause when you have like

31
00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:43,160
these, these line dances, these 
country dances, they're all 

32
00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:44,680
these like really intricate 
shapes. 

33
00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:47,760
So you need someone to like 
write the dance almost like a 

34
00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:50,200
song. 
And then everybody learns their 

35
00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:54,680
parts and then then when people 
got together, then they would 

36
00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:57,720
actually be able to do it. 
So it took a lot of privilege 

37
00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,080
because you needed to be able to
have like a guy that made-up the

38
00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:06,360
dances enough time to be able to
learn them and then enough time 

39
00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:08,720
to go to fancy parties and then 
dance the dances. 

40
00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:13,280
But they were really important 
for it was how a lot of 

41
00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,400
courtship and stuff happens, a 
lot of rules on like who you can

42
00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:20,200
touch and all of these things. 
But that being said there, there

43
00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:24,000
was also like commoner lowbrow 
type dances as well. 

44
00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:29,200
I've had the opportunity to do 
some dancing at Renaissance. 

45
00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:30,920
Fairs. 
Oh my God. 

46
00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:34,840
And sweet, that's where I have 
had a chance to do some old 

47
00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:38,480
English country dances. 
They're really fun. 

48
00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:41,200
And some of the ones that I've 
done were actually like making 

49
00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:45,320
fun of highbrow people. 
Like the lowbrow dance was about

50
00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:47,520
making fun of the highbrow dance
and stuff like that. 

51
00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,240
But they were all considered 
country dances and it was all a 

52
00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:56,480
very Western European thing. 
So of course the Western world 

53
00:02:56,480 --> 00:03:01,880
starts colonizing the New World.
And as all these colonizers and 

54
00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:06,880
settlers came over to America, 
they brought country dances with

55
00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:13,000
them. 
And then once they are in the 

56
00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:17,840
US, they of course get mixed up 
with all this crazy American 

57
00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:19,400
culture. 
Right. 

58
00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:22,400
How much so let me just stop you
for a second. 

59
00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:27,040
How much is it like 
choreographed of like, because I

60
00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:29,120
did do Scottish folk dancing one
time. 

61
00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:32,520
Is it similar to that? 
Or like there's like rueda as 

62
00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:37,400
well in salsa or like in Cuban 
dances, it's like kind of 

63
00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:41,600
choreographed so that you, I get
to do it in large groups. 

64
00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:45,320
So I can imagine it like spreads
to new places really easily 

65
00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:47,160
because it's a communal thing. 
Right. 

66
00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:48,840
It's a communal thing. 
It's something that really needs

67
00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:50,720
to be done in groups. 
And what we're talking about 

68
00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:54,480
right now is country dances, 
which is different from Contra 

69
00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:59,120
because country dances are what 
came over from the old world. 

70
00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:03,360
And then Contra is what happened
when it kind of started a mix 

71
00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:05,520
with American. 
Culture with American stuff? 

72
00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:06,200
Really. 
What? 

73
00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:12,560
Happened was higher society then
had enslaved people playing the 

74
00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:18,880
music for their parties and the 
enslaved African people were 

75
00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:22,280
then learning what these country
dances were and learning what 

76
00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:24,920
the music was and then also 
bringing their influence to the 

77
00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:27,040
music. 
And then they wanted to bring 

78
00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:31,720
those dances back to their 
community and, and, and dance 

79
00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:34,920
when they weren't working. 
And to be able to do that, these

80
00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:37,040
enslaved people, they didn't 
have the same amount of 

81
00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:40,080
privilege to be able to go learn
what all these complicated. 

82
00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:43,160
No time on their hands. 
Too busy of being enslaved, 

83
00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:44,080
Yeah. 
Exactly. 

84
00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:48,040
So what was invented in that was
them calling. 

85
00:04:48,840 --> 00:04:54,240
And calling is what you is most 
famous in square dancing, which 

86
00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,600
is very aligned with the history
of of Contra dancing and also 

87
00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:05,160
comes from country dances. 
And what happens is then instead

88
00:05:05,160 --> 00:05:08,640
of needing to know the dance, 
there's someone that's up there 

89
00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:12,920
along with the musicians calling
out the moves as they happen. 

90
00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:16,000
So you don't need to have, you 
don't need to learn it. 

91
00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:18,760
You can just go and experience. 
OK, because I'm not going to 

92
00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:21,200
lie, I was nervous thinking, oh,
I have to like know these 

93
00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:22,840
structures. 
I was. 

94
00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:25,160
Like. 
Fuck, we'll get into more too. 

95
00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:26,520
This is like your history 
lesson. 

96
00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:29,240
We'll get into more about what 
you need to expect for actually 

97
00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:30,720
you dancing it tonight. 
Awesome. 

98
00:05:30,720 --> 00:05:33,920
But you just need to know right 
now that Contra comes from these

99
00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:36,920
old country dances. 
And then when they come to 

100
00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:39,800
America, it kind of splits off 
into both square dancing and 

101
00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:41,520
Contra. 
Square dancing ends up being 

102
00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:44,480
what's more popular in the South
and Contra ends up being what's 

103
00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:50,800
more popular in the North. 
And they basically took this 

104
00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:55,800
dance form from Western Europe 
and then made it something 

105
00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:59,840
uniquely American by adding, 
calling and also adding a lot of

106
00:05:59,840 --> 00:06:04,880
the musical flair that enslaved 
black Africans brought into 

107
00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:06,640
music. 
And so that's when you get like 

108
00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:08,800
really rad fiddle playing and 
stuff like that. 

109
00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:10,120
Sick. 
Yeah. 

110
00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:11,080
Can't wait. 
Yeah. 

111
00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:14,200
So it's really great. 
So it's all done to like this, 

112
00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:19,840
you know, traditional folk music
that's all very like fiddles, 

113
00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:24,800
banjos and nice guitars and 
stuff like that. 

114
00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:27,360
Penny whistles in there. 
Yes, that kind of that kind of 

115
00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:29,360
music. 
For short, Oh, that's awesome. 

116
00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:32,600
Yes. 
I mean I have I under I 

117
00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:34,960
understand just like a tiny, 
tiny bit of what you're telling 

118
00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:38,560
me because we grew up. 
I grew up in North Seattle and 

119
00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:41,840
my family was friends with 
musicians that played at 

120
00:06:41,840 --> 00:06:45,160
contradences. 
And it was just like something 

121
00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:49,480
that consistently was happening 
every week for like, in my mind 

122
00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:51,400
the last 40 years. 
And that must be true. 

123
00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:54,000
Yeah, it's probably even the 
last 300 years, Yeah. 

124
00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:56,720
Which is amazing for. 
A really long time. 

125
00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:59,240
Kind of quietly in the 
background as like, salsa and 

126
00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:02,720
Lindy have, like, rose and 
bachatas coming in and Zook and 

127
00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:07,000
all these other dance forms that
are really popular right now. 

128
00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:09,240
This is just there. 
Yeah. 

129
00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:10,360
Incredible. 
Yeah. 

130
00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:15,880
One really cool thing that's a 
facet with Contra dancing is 

131
00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:18,480
that it's always live music, 
always a band. 

132
00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:22,000
It's the fact that you're 
dancing to live music is part of

133
00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:24,600
it amazing. 
I don't think like technically 

134
00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:27,600
you couldn't really have a like 
you could put on Contra music 

135
00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:30,960
and like dance to it, but it's 
just not, it's not the practice.

136
00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:33,360
It's not the same. 
There's always live music and 

137
00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:37,040
then there's always a caller, 
which is the person that is 

138
00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:39,800
calling out the moves. 
And when you go to like Contra 

139
00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,360
dance websites and stuff like 
that, it will list who the band 

140
00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:45,960
is and all the band members and 
who the caller is. 

141
00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:49,800
Because the caller is just is 
important to your like dance 

142
00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:51,880
experience is like your DJ and 
stuff like that. 

143
00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:53,840
They're the one that's they're 
even picking out what dances 

144
00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:55,560
you're doing and stuff. 
So people will like have their 

145
00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:57,400
favorite callers and stuff like 
that. 

146
00:07:57,480 --> 00:07:59,960
Are there times you're like, 
people are like, I didn't really

147
00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,640
like that caller or people feel 
that I wanna go? 

148
00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:04,720
Cuz they're like, Oh my God, 
that person's calling. 

149
00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:06,560
We gotta go, famous caller. 
Yeah. 

150
00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:09,720
Totally and stuff and like, and 
there's people that'll have like

151
00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,600
get really like be like famous 
in the Contra world for calling 

152
00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:19,320
and then their dances that they 
created will like matter and 

153
00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:21,440
stuff like that. 
So it's like, it's definitely 

154
00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:25,600
like being a caller is a visible
person in the community. 

155
00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:30,000
Nice. 
So tonight Old Sock is who the 

156
00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,640
band is. 
So that's Kathy Brown, fiddle. 

157
00:08:32,919 --> 00:08:35,360
Henry Palewa. 
Excuse me, I'm going to 

158
00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:36,880
pronounce these poorly before 
it. 

159
00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:39,640
Henry Palewa is on fiddle and 
guitar. 

160
00:08:39,799 --> 00:08:43,520
Michael Arleson is on Madeline 
and Bazooki. 

161
00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:45,320
Yeah. 
I don't even know what a bazooki

162
00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:46,800
is, so I'm excited. 
Bazooki. 

163
00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:48,640
Whatever a bazooki we're. 
Going to find out. 

164
00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:50,800
And then Billy Simppons is on 
keyboard. 

165
00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:54,120
And then we have Elizabeth. 
Monica is calling. 

166
00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:55,240
I'm so pumped. 
Yeah. 

167
00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:57,400
So it should be good. 
I don't know any I think about 

168
00:08:57,400 --> 00:08:59,880
those people, but I get to hear,
I get to see what a bazookie is,

169
00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:01,720
so I'm very excited. 
I wonder if we're going to be 

170
00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:05,240
like, oh, that's a bazookie 
probably, or we're like never 

171
00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:07,720
seen anything. 
Like we'll have to ask some 

172
00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:10,040
questions about the Bazookie. 
That's awesome. 

173
00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:13,480
So the the lead follow switch, 
like the lead and follow roles 

174
00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:15,080
so that they're like a little 
different. 

175
00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:18,600
You should you should ask me 
what they call lead and follow. 

176
00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:21,240
So I didn't know they even had 
leads and follows, which is. 

177
00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:22,040
Awesome. 
Yeah, they do. 

178
00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:22,920
What do they call? 
Them. 

179
00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:26,800
They call them larks and Robins,
which is so cute. 

180
00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:29,240
What that actually stands for is
left and right. 

181
00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:36,720
So if you're a a a Robin, that 
puts you on the right and then 

182
00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:38,520
that's traditionally the follow 
role. 

183
00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:42,120
And then if you're a lark, that 
means you're on the left and 

184
00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:44,000
that's traditionally the lead 
role. 

185
00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:47,280
But the really cool thing about 
the lead and follow and stuff is

186
00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:52,240
that like the caller is really 
the lead for the whole group 

187
00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:54,800
because they're the one that's 
telling you what the moves are. 

188
00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:59,680
So everyone who's dancing kind 
of just like gets to follow what

189
00:09:59,680 --> 00:10:02,160
this whole group is doing 
together and what the band and 

190
00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:05,040
the caller is very having you 
do. 

191
00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:08,320
Yeah, it it is kind of like a 
completely cool and different 

192
00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:11,440
dynamic. 
So really it comes down to Larks

193
00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:13,360
and Robbins. 
Like they call out different 

194
00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:16,760
moves for the Lark or the Robin.
But like, really what it means 

195
00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:19,920
is that you're on the left or 
the right and that the the 

196
00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:24,480
lark's hands go on the bottom 
and the Robin's hands go on the 

197
00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:26,480
top. 
But is there still an element of

198
00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:30,760
like leading where like energy 
is given and received or is it 

199
00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:35,000
mostly just like a structural 
setup that's then everybody 

200
00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:37,480
follows? 
There's a little bit of that 

201
00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:42,040
because you'll get into like 
figures, like a swing is one of 

202
00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:43,920
the figures. 
So a swing's gonna look just 

203
00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:47,920
like a, a, a Lindy hop like 
circle, like the center of it 

204
00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:51,040
where you're just in a ballroom 
hold and like going around in a 

205
00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:54,800
circle. 
So like, what's gonna happen in 

206
00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:58,240
that moment is like the caller's
gonna call out, swing your 

207
00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:03,400
partner, and then the the lark 
is gonna like get in the bottom 

208
00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:07,520
and then the Robin's gonna like 
connect in on the top and then 

209
00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:11,560
you're gonna swing around. 
So the the lark can give a lot 

210
00:11:11,560 --> 00:11:13,720
of energy, but like, so can the 
Robin. 

211
00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:17,680
And you just negotiate what you 
want it to be because really 

212
00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:20,560
it's the caller that told you 
that you're doing the swing in 

213
00:11:20,560 --> 00:11:21,800
that moment. 
Got it. 

214
00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:24,000
Yeah, that's cool. 
I am having a flashback to 2nd 

215
00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:27,280
grade square dancing. 
It's a It's like a lot like 

216
00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:29,240
square dancing. 
The big difference between 

217
00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:34,440
square dancing and Contra dance 
is square dancing is done in 

218
00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:36,200
squares. 
So there's couples. 

219
00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:38,320
I think it's like 4. 
I've never actually done square 

220
00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:39,800
dancing. 
It's like that's on my list to 

221
00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:41,920
try. 
But there's like 4 couples and 

222
00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:45,000
then you do the moves in that 
little square together. 

223
00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:48,120
The difference with Contra is 
it's done in long lines. 

224
00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:52,360
Yeah. 
So basically, when when we're 

225
00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:55,800
out there, you'll go find a 
dance partner like you would at 

226
00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:58,560
any dance social and you do your
little would you like to lark or

227
00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:01,200
Robin and and you decide who's 
doing what role. 

228
00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:04,680
And then you go up and you line 
up in these two long lines. 

229
00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:07,080
Gotcha. 
And the lark will be on the 

230
00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:09,040
left, and the Robin will be on 
the right. 

231
00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:16,840
And then you do something where 
it's called take hands for and 

232
00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:20,120
basically you turn to your 
partner and then your neighbors,

233
00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:22,160
which are like the other 
integral role. 

234
00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:25,680
And you just hold, hold hands 
somehow, like like this. 

235
00:12:25,680 --> 00:12:27,920
Like it'd be 4, four people 
holding hands. 

236
00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:29,920
Oh, so like that. 
So in a circle, like you're 

237
00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:31,400
about to go ring around the 
rosy. 

238
00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:34,080
Yeah. 
So that's how each dance starts.

239
00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:38,000
OK. 
And then from there, the caller 

240
00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,400
gives you a tutorial of the 
whole what the figure is going 

241
00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:43,920
to be. 
So basically you walk through 

242
00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:46,080
what all the figures are going 
to be and everyone kind of 

243
00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:50,200
learns what the dance is. 
And there's like a figure, like 

244
00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:54,920
the whole dance itself is like 
they're like a chorus of a song.

245
00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:58,520
They're like 4 or 5 bars or 
whatever. 

246
00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:01,600
It's like, I don't know, like 
6080 counts is what like the 

247
00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:03,520
whole all the figures are going 
to be. 

248
00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:05,400
And then they repeat. 
Nice. 

249
00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:08,760
And as they repeat, you would 
you advance up and down the 

250
00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:09,880
line. 
So you dance with everybody. 

251
00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:13,080
So you dance with everybody. 
Or everybody of the opposite 

252
00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:15,000
lark or. 
Right, yes. 

253
00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:20,360
And larks, like larks have an 
opportunity to interact with 

254
00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:22,920
each other during the dance, and
Robins have each other an 

255
00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:25,400
opportunity to interact with 
each other throughout the dance.

256
00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:29,760
So when you do a dance, you 
interact with everybody in the 

257
00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:31,720
line. 
This is so degener dance. 

258
00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:36,320
It's very, very degener dance. 
Contra is super queer, very, 

259
00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:39,440
very queer, very like accepting.
It's something like Contra 

260
00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:43,760
communities are known for 
masking really well as well and 

261
00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:46,080
just being like very COVID 
conscious and very like 

262
00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:48,960
community conscious and a lot of
ways. 

263
00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:52,760
And I think that you can see it 
in the dance too, of like, it's 

264
00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:56,440
this really equal lateral thing 
of like, it's like I explain it.

265
00:13:56,440 --> 00:13:58,400
It's more like everybody's 
trying to figure out a group 

266
00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:00,400
puzzle. 
Then you're actually like 

267
00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:02,400
partner dancing. 
Yeah, cool. 

268
00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:06,040
But there is partnership. 
Yes, you will do some things 

269
00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:09,560
with your partner and stuff, but
there's just like so many more 

270
00:14:09,560 --> 00:14:13,040
ways to partner with a room full
of people dancing than just you 

271
00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:14,640
and one other person for one 
whole song. 

272
00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:16,320
That's cool. 
Oh, I'm excited. 

273
00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:21,880
Yeah, it should be really cool. 
So there's just like one more 

274
00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:25,680
really weird thing that'll kind 
of happen in the middle of a 

275
00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:31,560
Contra social of there will be a
waltz in the matter of the 

276
00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:33,000
social. 
What does that look like? 

277
00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:35,600
There is an opportunity to do 
some more like traditional 

278
00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:40,440
partner dances. 
So I had someone named Robin, 

279
00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:43,160
funny enough, who's an organizer
down in Olympia. 

280
00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:47,160
She was the person that 
introduced me to How this Goes 

281
00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:48,680
the first night out Contra 
dancing. 

282
00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:50,600
And she knew me from the Lindy 
Hop world. 

283
00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:53,720
And she was like, it's kind of 
like the Shim Sham where 

284
00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:55,600
suddenly everybody's doing 
something different and like, 

285
00:14:55,600 --> 00:14:58,000
they don't explain it to you 
what it is, but you keep showing

286
00:14:58,000 --> 00:14:59,800
up and you figure out what. 
It is so. 

287
00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:03,720
It's just like at the end of the
set for the band, they'll play a

288
00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:08,280
waltz and you'll hear that it's 
a different rhythm than 

289
00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:10,680
everything else we've been 
dancing to, and you'll know that

290
00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:12,680
it's a waltz. 
So you go find a partner and you

291
00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:15,400
waltz with that song. 
Yeah. 

292
00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:20,080
So there's a, there's like a 
folk waltz, Contra waltz that's 

293
00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:25,600
like a really chill, fun little 
waltz that's so fun to dance. 

294
00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:28,800
I love that about socials, that 
there's like these things you 

295
00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:30,840
can't learn except for by going 
to them. 

296
00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:34,280
We have that in salsa too, where
like suddenly a cha cha will 

297
00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:38,560
come on and then like somebody 
will decide to go like run a cha

298
00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:41,920
cha line and then everybody 
lines up and like does cha cha 

299
00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:44,680
footwork like the whole group. 
And it it doesn't happen at 

300
00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:47,280
every social, but it's like 
every once in a while there's 

301
00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:52,000
like such a fun cha cha line, 
but you, you don't really like 

302
00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:54,720
prepare for that. 
You just like go and see what 

303
00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:55,560
happens. 
Yeah, it just happens. 

304
00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:57,400
It's just like a spontaneous 
thing that happens. 

305
00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:00,120
It's a little bit more planned 
with with the waltz because it 

306
00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:01,800
always happens at the end of 
every set. 

307
00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:04,640
So you can expect it out of 
Contra Social, but it's 

308
00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:07,000
something very different that 
that happens. 

309
00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:07,520
Cool. 
Yeah. 

310
00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:09,640
Thanks for the warning. 
That's that's. 

311
00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:12,440
It so you'll know so we can go 
waltz together so we can go be 

312
00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:14,520
waltz partners for when we get 
to the waltz. 

313
00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:18,200
But it's also kind of like a 
good mark, Like if you're ready 

314
00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:21,120
to only do half a night out, 
it's like all the waltz 

315
00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:22,080
happened. 
It's ready, right? 

316
00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:23,800
At the end of the set. 
I made it to the waltz. 

317
00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:25,040
Let's go home. 
Yeah. 

318
00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:26,880
Yeah, cool. 
And it happens at the end of the

319
00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:29,280
night for a lot of times too. 
The night will end with a waltz 

320
00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:31,240
too. 
Do you have any other questions 

321
00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:34,760
for going to a whole new brand 
new dance forum tonight? 

322
00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:39,240
What's the vibe in terms of 
like, is it dress up, dress 

323
00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:41,080
down? 
Is it casual? 

324
00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:44,840
It's super casual, super casual 
and you're going to see people 

325
00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:48,800
from like all generations, like 
I've been to Contra socials 

326
00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:51,280
with, you know, someone that has
like a baby strapped to their 

327
00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:53,920
chest and there's toddlers 
running around the room and my 

328
00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:58,000
dance partner is in their 90s. 
And, and then there's also, you 

329
00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:01,560
know, people of everywhere in 
between from toddler to 90, you 

330
00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:05,240
know, so it's very, very 
inclusive in that way. 

331
00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:10,400
It's also, like, super queer, 
like, you'll see. 

332
00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:13,720
It's one of my favorite things 
that I've seen at a Contra is 

333
00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:17,720
especially, like, mask 
presenting people that come in 

334
00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:22,440
with, like, their jeans and they
change into a skirt. 

335
00:17:22,599 --> 00:17:24,280
Hell yeah. 
Like, they're changing their 

336
00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:25,079
dance shoes. 
Yeah. 

337
00:17:25,079 --> 00:17:27,480
Just like, got my dance shoes on
and now my skirt because I'm 

338
00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:29,200
Contra dancing. 
Why wouldn't I wear a skirt? 

339
00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:31,160
Have a nice little twirl. 
Yes. 

340
00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:32,920
Like, so there'll be a lot of 
skirts, too. 

341
00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:35,320
And they're worn by and they're 
worn by all genders. 

342
00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:37,680
Like everybody's ready to twirl 
in their cute little skirt. 

343
00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:40,560
OK OK, so that'll give me some 
idea I should wear whatever I 

344
00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:41,720
want. 
You wear whatever you want like 

345
00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:44,680
I being wearing leggings and AT 
shirt is great. 

346
00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:45,600
Right. 
Awesome. 

347
00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:49,560
Yeah. 
And I also feel like the 

348
00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:53,040
communal vibe is like the 
community vibe of having like 

349
00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:55,520
all ages and stuff. 
Like do a lot of them because it

350
00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:57,720
starts at 7:00. 
Yeah, it's a little earlier all 

351
00:17:57,720 --> 00:17:59,480
Contras, always a little 
earlier. 

352
00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:01,520
That's so enticing. 
Yeah, yeah. 

353
00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:03,160
Cool. 
Yeah, It's not one of those 

354
00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:05,880
things where your night starts 
at 10:00 PM, like your night is 

355
00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:08,440
over by 10:00 PM. 
Right, that's cool. 

356
00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:11,600
I love that though, because it 
does mean like we were talking 

357
00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:15,120
about ageism and dance, right? 
Like, it does mean that kids and

358
00:18:15,120 --> 00:18:18,560
babies and whole communities can
come together regardless of the.

359
00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:20,400
Yes, it can be like a family 
activity. 

360
00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:23,760
It's not something that's just 
exclusive for, you know, tech 

361
00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:25,640
workers of their 20s. 
Right, right. 

362
00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:27,600
Cool. 
No, I, I'm I'm pumped. 

363
00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:28,560
Let's do it. 
Cool. 

364
00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:30,440
Amazing. 
All right, let's do it. 

365
00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:35,320
Contra. 
Please wipe your shoes and your 

366
00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:37,680
dance shoes, all right. 
Must be the place like not. 

367
00:18:38,360 --> 00:18:43,720
Your dance, here we come. 
People are facing One Direction 

368
00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:45,800
on a circle. 
People are facing the other 

369
00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:50,200
direction with this person. 
Offer your hands like this and 

370
00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:56,240
next and in two of you, this 
move is called an Aliman. 

371
00:18:56,720 --> 00:18:59,480
If you turn by the right hand, 
it's called an Aliman, right? 

372
00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:03,720
So go ahead and Aliman, right? 
And this advice I have. 

373
00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:04,440
Is. 
I. 

374
00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:06,960
Recommend when you're first. 
Talking about that, you look for

375
00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:10,040
people who. 
Are experienced dancers they're.

376
00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:12,120
Probably going to look for you 
actually. 

377
00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:15,360
Anything like to dance? 
So those are my 2 pieces of 

378
00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:17,600
advice and go ahead and ask 
someone to dance the. 

379
00:19:17,600 --> 00:20:17,160
Very first contract. 
We'll be back because I see you.

380
00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:17,800
Thank you. 
So much. 

381
00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:24,320
And we're back. 
We're back back at Kate's 

382
00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:28,120
apartment after Contra dancing. 
Kate, what did you think? 

383
00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:32,120
The sweat has dried, yeah. 
We got a little sweaty in there,

384
00:20:32,120 --> 00:20:35,440
a little toasty. 
I really enjoyed it. 

385
00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:39,680
I thought it was, well it was 
definitely very different than 

386
00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:44,440
other partner dance socials. 
I really liked the vibe, I felt 

387
00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:48,960
very welcomed and the music was 
very laid back. 

388
00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:51,200
And the music was extra chill 
tonight. 

389
00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:54,480
Extra chill. 
We met some really cool 

390
00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:58,160
characters. 
I got some of the movements 

391
00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:00,240
really quickly. 
Other times I was totally lost 

392
00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:03,000
and I felt like that was fine. 
Yeah, that's something that can 

393
00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:04,680
happen. 
Like you get the tutorial at the

394
00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:06,600
beginning, but when you're 
really new, not a lot of it's 

395
00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:08,920
like making sense. 
I sort of feel like it's kind of

396
00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:12,920
like when you're getting a board
game explained to you and you're

397
00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,280
like, none of this is making 
sense. 

398
00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:17,400
And the person will just be 
like, you'll get it, we'll just 

399
00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:19,040
start playing and you'll get it 
as we get it. 

400
00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:20,960
And that's like 100% what Contra
is like. 

401
00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:22,560
You just have to like start 
doing it. 

402
00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:24,480
Totally. 
That's like the beginner drop in

403
00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:29,080
lesson that we did is just 15 
minutes because there's like not

404
00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:32,320
a lot of Contra dancing that you
can teach, right In general. 

405
00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:34,680
Like you just have to do it. 
Right, totally like. 

406
00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:37,880
You can be introduced to how it 
works, but it's not like, OK, 

407
00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:41,360
and now we're going to teach you
the specific figure because like

408
00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:43,720
you just, you just have to do. 
It you just have to do it and 

409
00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:47,840
feel it in your body. 
I definitely there was one dance

410
00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:50,080
where none of it never made 
sense. 

411
00:21:50,120 --> 00:21:54,480
Me and my partner were just 
like, I think he was a little 

412
00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:56,520
bit new. 
I was brand new. 

413
00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,240
And it was just like hilarious. 
Everybody was like, you're in 

414
00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:00,520
the wrong place, you're in the 
wrong place. 

415
00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:03,640
And I kept being paired. 
We kept getting in the wrong 

416
00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:05,200
spot. 
And then I was suddenly dancing 

417
00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:08,280
with another lark, even though 
that wasn't part of the pattern.

418
00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:10,520
And I was like, we're confused. 
We're so confused. 

419
00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:15,000
I think that it can be really 
fun getting confused too, 

420
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:19,120
because, you know, you end up in
the wrong spot. 

421
00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:20,760
Like, it's just hilarious. 
Yeah. 

422
00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:23,120
Like, you're trying to figure 
out where to go and, like, you 

423
00:22:23,120 --> 00:22:25,360
get so flustered and you're 
like, I don't know what, since 

424
00:22:25,360 --> 00:22:27,400
you're, like, moving around, 
you're like, what's going on? 

425
00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:29,520
But then it'll be kind of 
magical where you like, get to 

426
00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:31,720
it where you figure it out again
and it'll get better. 

427
00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:35,120
We had a moment like that where 
we were like and then all of a 

428
00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:36,880
sudden we were like there it. 
Is there it is. 

429
00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:37,720
We got it. 
We got it. 

430
00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:40,160
That was a good. 
Star we when we got to the star 

431
00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:41,680
we knew we had. 
Done it, we couldn't figure out 

432
00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:45,000
this one promenade but it 
eventually clicked in because I 

433
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:46,560
could. 
Went for the promenade into this

434
00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:48,160
star left. 
Yeah, it's. 

435
00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:52,680
Really cool. 
There's this saying for Contra 

436
00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:55,400
when in moments like that where 
things get kind of messed up, 

437
00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:57,840
you don't really know what's 
going on and it's better never 

438
00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:01,280
than late. 
Just pretty funny because it's 

439
00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:03,680
like it's better to just move on
to the next just. 

440
00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:04,360
Keep going. 
Just be. 

441
00:23:04,360 --> 00:23:07,400
Confused and like whatever, and 
then just go on to the next 

442
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:08,280
move. 
That'll work. 

443
00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:10,680
Because if you do it late, 
you're just going to throw off 

444
00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:13,520
the whole rest of the pattern. 
And like everybody else, you 

445
00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:15,680
need to just keep going with 
what's going on. 

446
00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:20,000
I think my that reminds me that 
I think my favorite moment, 

447
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:24,160
aside from the swings, where 
you're like in a close embrace 

448
00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:26,640
and like swinging around with 
somebody was sitting on the 

449
00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:30,000
sidelines between dances and 
watching the whole room. 

450
00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:32,480
Like. 
Slow in unison. 

451
00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:34,680
It's very beautiful. 
It is really beautiful. 

452
00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:37,320
It's like watching a really big 
wave or something like that. 

453
00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:40,200
You see all these things 
happening at the same moment in 

454
00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,520
the same patterns. 
I love watching to see people do

455
00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:46,560
flourishes and stuff like that. 
Yeah, those extra cool little 

456
00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:49,480
movements that people are doing 
is like really fun. 

457
00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:52,520
I really love seeing all the 
different ways people swing, 

458
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:55,800
especially you'll see like some 
really intimate slings out 

459
00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:58,160
there, like people that are 
being like, cute with their 

460
00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:00,800
sweetie and they'll do like a 
head connection and stuff like 

461
00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:03,320
that. 
That will be like really, really

462
00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:05,720
sweet. 
And I I really enjoy watching 

463
00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:09,200
Contra, Yeah. 
It was, it was, and I also 

464
00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:12,280
experienced how flirty the dance
is because of all that eye 

465
00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:13,840
contact. 
Yes, that was something I didn't

466
00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:17,440
warn you about beforehand, and I
kind of wish I had Taj. 

467
00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:19,880
I think they mentioned it in the
beginner lesson they did. 

468
00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:23,440
Yeah, that eye contact, like 
some people will say that the 

469
00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:26,720
basic step to like there's no 
basic step, but the basic 

470
00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:30,200
Tekontra is eye contact because 
it's such an important part 

471
00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:33,360
about what you're doing. 
Yes, it was really fascinating. 

472
00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:36,680
It was like, it was very 
interesting because some people 

473
00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:40,000
I was like instantly comfortable
doing that with and then and 

474
00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,560
maybe I wouldn't have expected I
would have been comfortable. 

475
00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:44,920
And then other people I was 
like, Nope. 

476
00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:47,800
Or like together our energy was 
just like, Nope. 

477
00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:52,520
But I like that that's a focus 
because it is a really deep way 

478
00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:54,800
to connect when you don't know 
what the fuck you're doing, 

479
00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:56,560
right? 
Like for me, it was very 

480
00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:58,400
grounding. 
I was like, OK, well, at least 

481
00:24:58,400 --> 00:24:59,560
we're looking at each other. 
You're. 

482
00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:02,720
Like really locked in with the 
person and stuff like that. 

483
00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:06,720
And it's interesting how you can
be dancing with someone for 

484
00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:11,240
literally just like maybe 15 
seconds as you interact with 

485
00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:14,640
them in this line, but you can 
deeply connect with them because

486
00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:17,720
you've actually like made eye 
contact as you like touched 

487
00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:19,320
hands and walked around each 
other. 

488
00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:21,440
And then you move on to the next
partner. 

489
00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:25,400
And you can like have that a 
deep like connection all over 

490
00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:27,880
again, brief amount of time 
because you're actually 

491
00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:30,520
connecting with the person and 
you don't have to think too much

492
00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:32,400
about what's going on in your 
own body. 

493
00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:34,400
It's not like, am I triple 
stepping right? 

494
00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:37,000
Is my frame good? 
Is my technique, whatever? 

495
00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:38,760
Because like there's not a lot 
of that in Contra. 

496
00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:42,400
You can just hold somebody's 
hand and walk around in a circle

497
00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:44,280
as you look deeply into their 
eyes. 

498
00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:47,000
How refreshing. 
Yeah. 

499
00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:49,680
Yeah, I loved it. 
I'd like to go back. 

500
00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:51,800
Amazing. 
I love that for you. 

501
00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:58,320
And the Contra dance is really 
into dancing with beginners and 

502
00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:00,520
fostering beginners. 
I felt that and bringing in 

503
00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:03,440
beginners and that, you know, 
when they know that it's your 

504
00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:06,040
first time at a dance, they 
really want to make sure you 

505
00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:10,640
like have a good time and people
who are older and like the 

506
00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:14,200
elders of the dance really work 
to support the new people coming

507
00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:18,680
in, which is really beautiful. 
I danced with some guy that was 

508
00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:20,160
an elder. 
He told me that he'd been 

509
00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:25,720
dancing Contra for 51 years. 
And he told me he's like, I'm at

510
00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:28,520
this the age now where they tell
you if you see something wrong, 

511
00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:32,440
you're supposed to point it out.
Wait, what does that mean? 

512
00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:36,040
Meaning like if things could be,
if there's something that he 

513
00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:38,440
knows where something could be 
easier or something like that, 

514
00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:41,560
he's supposed to be like. 
He's an elder now, like. 

515
00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:43,840
He's supposed to. 
The music's hard to hear. 

516
00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:47,000
Tell the sound guy. 
Or like this figure isn't 

517
00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:49,680
working, Tell the caller it 
needs to be like this or like 

518
00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:53,400
this band dance is a a Becket 
dance or whatever, and we need 

519
00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:54,920
to fix it or something. 
Oh. 

520
00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:56,440
Wait, do you know what a Becket 
Dance is? 

521
00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:00,640
I heard that word and it was all
too confusing really. 

522
00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:03,640
Confusing. 
OK, I am pretty sure that a 

523
00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:06,000
Beckett dances. 
Please Contra people, if there's

524
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:07,840
anything in this that we are 
getting wrong like. 

525
00:27:08,120 --> 00:27:10,600
E-mail. 
Comment on YouTube, e-mail 

526
00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:13,120
degenerdancegmail.com let us 
know. 

527
00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:16,000
But I am pretty pretty sure, 
Well, first of all, Beckett's 

528
00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:18,440
like one of those weird 
vocabulary words that it's like,

529
00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:20,120
is this a cult? 
Like why do you all know what 

530
00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:21,920
that word means? 
Like what is that and when are 

531
00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:24,480
you gonna tell us, right? 
And there's some Contra dances 

532
00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:27,400
where they'll announce that it's
a Beckett dance, a bucket dance 

533
00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:31,480
or Beckett dance, and half the 
room will cluck like a chicken 

534
00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:33,080
or crawl like it. 
They'll be like and this is a 

535
00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:34,760
bucket dance and half the room 
is like. 

536
00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:38,760
And you're like, why? 
Is what is going on. 

537
00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:41,040
So I don't know what the clucky 
like a chicken is. 

538
00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:44,720
Hit us up. 
But what it means is that 

539
00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:49,480
normally when you start a dance,
you are on opposite sides of 

540
00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:54,720
like there's two lines, right? 
And for a normal dance, there's 

541
00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:56,360
probably another name for normal
dance. 

542
00:27:56,360 --> 00:28:00,400
But from what I know is a normal
dance, you are you're on one 

543
00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:01,920
side and your partner's on the 
other side. 

544
00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:05,040
And a Beckett dance is you and 
your partner start on the same. 

545
00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:08,560
So they'll be like it's a 
Beckett dance. 

546
00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:10,200
And then everybody like 
reshuffles. 

547
00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:12,120
Interesting. 
Side and stuff like that. 

548
00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:15,160
Cool, yeah. 
So, so much to learn. 

549
00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,800
There's a lot of little, like in
any dance, there's a lot of like

550
00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:23,000
weird little code words that 
you, you know, the jargon about 

551
00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:25,080
the dance totally learn. 
And Beckett's one of those. 

552
00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:26,640
Oh yeah. 
And there was like, what was it,

553
00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:30,520
the bazookie that we did figure 
out what a bazookie was, and it 

554
00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:32,280
was a big mandolin that was 
being. 

555
00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:35,680
It was like a mandolin with a 
long ass neck and I've seen one 

556
00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:41,000
before now that yeah, we looked 
at it sounded great. 

557
00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:42,640
What'd you think about the 
music? 

558
00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:45,800
So I loved the music. 
I have to say it was a little 

559
00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:48,600
less raucous. 
It was a really chill band. 

560
00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:50,440
Than I was expecting. 
I was. 

561
00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:53,440
Comparing expecting a little 
more like hooping and hollering 

562
00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:54,600
and like there. 
Was a little hooping. 

563
00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:56,320
There was a little bit, there 
was a little bit of that, and I 

564
00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:57,400
was. 
Like, OK, there'll be. 

565
00:28:57,400 --> 00:28:59,960
More in other Contra dances, but
I've heard that this one was 

566
00:28:59,960 --> 00:29:02,600
kind of chill and this band also
played some covers. 

567
00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:04,680
Did you see they played Billie 
Jean? 

568
00:29:05,400 --> 00:29:07,840
Was that what that was? 
Liking Billie Jean? 

569
00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:11,200
It was Michael Jackson. 
Was it Billie Jean or was it 

570
00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:12,880
Annie? 
Are you OK? 

571
00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:14,160
Are you? 
OK. 

572
00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:22,240
Are you OK, Annie? 
Being the person that I am, of 

573
00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:24,280
course I was like, is that Alien
Ant Farm? 

574
00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:26,200
And then I was like, no, it's. 
Michael Jackson. 

575
00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:29,160
It's a Michael Jackson 
millennial tings. 

576
00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:31,240
That's so funny. 
But yeah, they're they were 

577
00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:33,640
doing some covers and I thought 
they sounded really, really 

578
00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:36,960
nice. 
And it was very akin to some of 

579
00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:39,400
the music I've been listening to
as I get more in touch with 

580
00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:42,280
Roots. 
And so, yeah, I really, I, there

581
00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:44,480
was a moment when I was sitting 
on the sidelines. 

582
00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:49,920
It was like the last Contra that
we did before the waltz where I 

583
00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:53,320
was like, almost moved to tears 
by just like, being in a new 

584
00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:56,520
community, being in a community 
where there's like, all kinds of

585
00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:58,200
people. 
And I didn't feel like a sore 

586
00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:00,840
thumb in any way. 
It was really nice. 

587
00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:03,840
I love that for you. 
I'm really glad at that moment. 

588
00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:07,280
And yeah, Contra is a place, 
like you said it a little 

589
00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:09,640
earlier when we were in the car 
ride home of like, it's a place 

590
00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:11,440
where you can fly your freak 
flag. 

591
00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:13,600
Yes. 
And, you know, there's people in

592
00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:18,320
like, furry ears, yes, people of
all genders wearing skirts like.

593
00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:21,080
And some like regular normies in
there too. 

594
00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:25,000
Yeah, like there's a big range 
and I feel like I rolled in with

595
00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:28,560
my T-shirt and my wool skirt and
I was just. 

596
00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:30,560
Yeah, you're a totally. 
And I danced with a guy that was

597
00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:34,720
in a kilt and a tie with a tie 
clip and a pocket protector. 

598
00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:37,280
And. 
A little pocket protector and 

599
00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:38,480
stuff like that. 
It was great. 

600
00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:42,080
Yeah, there was a lot of just 
like, people expressing 

601
00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:47,280
themselves authentically and not
trying to be anything that they 

602
00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:49,640
weren't, which I really 
appreciated. 

603
00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:53,280
And like I said too, like not 
every community is perfect, but 

604
00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:56,040
I think they're doing a pretty 
good job of making a welcoming 

605
00:30:56,040 --> 00:30:58,000
space. 
Well, we'll have to do that 

606
00:30:58,000 --> 00:30:58,960
again sometime. 
I definitely. 

607
00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:01,840
Have to go more Contra dancing. 
I'm also really excited to try 

608
00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:04,600
more dance form. 
And go do. 

609
00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:07,840
As many as possible to see what 
other else we can try. 

610
00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:11,160
So if there's anywhere else you 
want to see us go dancing, any 

611
00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:13,120
other dance forms you'd like to 
see us try? 

612
00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:16,120
I feel like the next natural 
step might be some line dancing.

613
00:31:16,360 --> 00:31:18,240
Some line dancing would really. 
Really good. 

614
00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:20,280
I know a place. 
Some clear two step. 

615
00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:22,080
We have to go do that. 
OK. 

616
00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:23,680
All right. 
Line dancing is next. 

617
00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:25,960
I'm all about that. 
That sounds really good. 

618
00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:30,400
OK, well, I think that that's it
for our Contra dance. 

619
00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:32,720
Yes, adventure. 
Thank you for taking me, Liz. 

620
00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:34,000
It's. 
Been so good, thanks for giving 

621
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:35,720
Contra a chance. 
Loved it. 

622
00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:39,360
And to all of you out there, 
thank you so much for tuning in.

623
00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:43,560
As usual, if you want to leave 
us a review, we now have our 

624
00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:45,240
podcast on. 
YouTube. 

625
00:31:45,320 --> 00:31:47,280
Yes, D Gender Dance is on 
YouTube. 

626
00:31:47,280 --> 00:31:50,920
Just go ahead and search D 
Gender Dance on YouTube and we 

627
00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:53,080
will show up. 
All of our podcasts are on there

628
00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:55,600
and we're going to be putting 
some other fancy content on 

629
00:31:55,600 --> 00:31:56,560
there. 
Absolutely. 

630
00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:00,240
So leave a comment. 
Leave a comment as usual. 

631
00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:03,360
You can also e-mail us if you 
have ideas for where we should 

632
00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:06,920
go dance next, guest ideas, or 
just any kind of feedback you 

633
00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:08,640
want to leave us. 
Absolutely. 

634
00:32:08,640 --> 00:32:13,160
And that's it for us today. 
Bye, bye, bye. 

635
00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:21,840
See you next time.